Plexus and Other Pylon Designs Will Soon Invade the Countryside

The 88,000 electrical pylons embedded across the British Isles haven't received so much as a paint job in their century-long existence, so Plexus, T-Pylon and other designs hope to replace the aging look of older transmission towers.

The Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), in tandem with the Department of Energy and Climate Change hope to reinvent history's biggest eyesore and inject vitality into the skyline of rural England. It makes sense that with a newer, more adaptive electrical grid, the wires that connect us all should be equally smart in design. With that goal in mind, RIBA launched a competition to find a viable concept with which to replace the country's pylons. Thus far, a short list has been whittled down from thousands of applications. Plexus and the other design nominees have managed to preserve the beauty of the countryside while preparing for the electrical needs of generations to come.